Featured Image Credit: Andrew Aitchison / Contributor / Pool / Pool / Getty
UK safeguarding minister Jess Phillips has said that Elon Musk's recent actions on social media had 'endangered' her, particularly due to the 'disinformation' being spread by the richest man in the world.
Elon Musk's interference and criticism of the UK government on X (formerly Twitter) has remained one of the biggest news stories of recent times, as the owner of the social media platform has targeted past cases of grooming gangs across Britain.
While Musk has set his sights on the government as a whole and current prime minister Keir Starmer, it is safeguarding minister Jess Phillips that has been arguably the primary focus of attacks from the tech mogul.
Phillips has been labelled a "rape genocide apologist" and a "witch" by Musk, and has now expressed in an interview with BBC's Newsnight that she feels 'endangered' by the targeted threats and 'disinformation' spread by the Tesla CEO.
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She revealed that the threat to her safety had increased since Musk's social media tirade, but remains committed to making an "actual change" to the way that local areas deal with grooming gangs.
"I will base my decisions on evidence, not on very rich men in America," Phillips detailed in the same interview when questioned about her decision to favor locally-led inquires as opposed to those spearheaded by the Home Office.
🚨 NEW: Jess Phillips says she turned down a government-led inquiry into the grooming gangs in Oldham because a locally led one in Telford meant 'things changed, way quicker'
— Politics UK (@PolitlcsUK) January 7, 2025
"I will base my decisions on evidence not on very rich men in America."pic.twitter.com/oTuHcM3emx
She argued that her decision to adopt this approach was inspired by the result of local investigations in Telford: "I watched what happened there, and I saw a process that was the only one that has ever done anything to actually change the way the council, the local police, the local CPS have actually changed, and I took part in that process for years."
She continued on to argue: "It is an independent inquiry led locally and it's the only model I've seen work, and I've worked in this field for 15 years."
Phillips has also received support from survivors of gender-based violence in Telford, as reported by the Guardian, in which they detail that there was "no one in public life who has done more to support victims and survivors and to advocate for their interests."
Musk remains firm in his own views, however, continuing to support Conservative and Reform MPs in their requests for a full national inquiry, asking his followers on X to contact their member of parliament.
Conservative party members are attempting, with Musk's support, to amend the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill currently tabled by Labour in order to include a "national statutory inquiry into historical child sexual exploitation, focused on grooming gangs."
If this was approved it would kill the bill that is currently in the process of being motioned, although due to the significant majority held by Labour in the House of Commons, it is unlikely to happen.
Starmer has said in an interview with The Mirror that the push from Conservative and Reform MPs is "the elevation of the desire for retweets over any real interest in the safeguarding of children."
This isn't the first time in recent memory that Musk has attempted to destabilize government bills either, as he was criticized in late December after a US budget at risk of failing following his cost-cutting recommendations.
